On November 12th, 2021, Officers assigned to the Gulfport Police Department were dispatched to an area Dollar Tree, after a 9-1-1 caller indicated a man was outside the store causing a disturbance.

While arriving on the scene, one officer recognized the homeless man from a reported vehicle fire incident which happened just hours earlier. In the body camera footage, the officers are observed approaching the distressed homeless man, who at the time was crouched behind a baby stroller. One officer can be heard communicating with the man on a first name basis.

Within a split second, the man stood up and immediately drew a firearm from his waistband and pointed it in the direction of the officers. In response, both officers discharged their service weapons, striking the man multiple times and neutralizing him. The man transported to an area hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.

During initial investigations, the weapon was determined to be fake, that of a handgun.